Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
“You both are.” She smiled shyly as his hand collided with Beck’s under her skirt.
“Great minds.” Beck smirked before taking a sip of water.
“Come on, girls,” Meg prodded. “We promised Da we’d take photos. If we don’t send some by morning, he’ll get his knickers in a twist.”
“That he will.” Aisling pushed her plate away and rose, tugging her cell phone from her clutch, nodding as the others followed suit. “We’ll be back.”
As the sisters began happily snapping photos of the decorations and people, Zach shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” Beck asked his brother. “Liam’s sisters too much for you?”
“They’re…talkative. They pick up where the last one leaves off. It’s…”
“Exhausting?” Seth drawled.
“Just…different, like everything today.”
“You mean the handfasting ceremony?” Beck asked.
“Yes, but I’m more surprised you officiated it.”
“I did it for them,” Beck said, nodding toward Hammer, Liam, and Raine. “They’re some of my best friends. They deserve happiness.”
“I gathered. It’s just…I’ve never heard anyone curse at the pulpit before.”
Heavenly covered her mouth to hide her giggle. Beck laughed, long and hard. Seth choked out an appropriate chortle. Would this night ever fucking end? He just wanted to go home, undress their girl with Beck, lose himself inside her, and stop thinking about this maudlin shit.
If you do, how will that change tomorrow?
The deejay started up a new song, a slow ballad. Beck held out his hand to Heavenly. “How about a dance?”
She took it with a smile. “That’s so romantic. I’d love to.”
He helped her to her feet and winked. “It also gives me a chance to rub up against you.”
Her smile widened. “That works for me, too.”
He led her to the middle of the floor and turned her into his arms. Seth looked on, both resentful that he wasn’t holding her and grateful to have a few moments alone.
“I envy them,” Zach said.
Seth tugged his attention back across the table. He’d been so focused on Beck and Heavenly, he’d forgotten the guy still sat three chairs away. “Who?”
“Liam, Raine, and Hammer.” He nodded at the trio across the room, approaching their white confection of a wedding cake.
I envy them, too.
Those three had come through the worst in life and emerged stronger, more committed, and irrevocably in love.
He studied Zach, who didn’t seem like a threesome kind of guy. “Because…?”
“They have family, purpose, a sense of belonging. I’d give anything to have all that again.” Zach sighed.
Seth dissected his words, then nodded slowly. When he’d lost Autumn and Tristan, he’d still had his mom and four brothers to fall back on, not to mention good friends like Liam and Hammer. Who had Zach had, except the brother he hadn’t seen in a decade and a half?
“After the kind of loss you’ve endured, it takes time to find yourself. Believe me, I know. You’ll get there,” Seth assured. “Hell, you might even find love again, too. At the very least, you should have more privacy for romance now that my brothers are back in New York.”
“They were a lot of fun and a good distraction when I needed one. But the past few weeks have been blessedly quiet. And I’ve learned a few things on my own.”
“Yeah?”
Zach nodded, his stare direct and disparaging. “I’ve figured out how to spot a fool.”
Seth bristled. “Are you calling me a fool?”
“I am.”
What the fuck was up with everyone tonight? This was supposed to be a happy occasion. Or had everyone gotten the fuck up Seth’s evening memo? “You know I could kill you with one punch, right?”
“Probably,” Zach conceded with a shrug. “But that wouldn’t change what you are.”
“Look, you and I made our peace. I apologized for the way I behaved when we first met. Why the fuck are you piling on me now?”
Zach leaned across the table. “Because you lost the people most precious and you didn’t learn anything from it. In the weeks of solitude since your brothers left, I’ve been so lonely. Sure, I can find company for a night, but it’s meaningless. I’d give anything to spend five minutes with someone who truly loves me. You’ve got two who would walk through fire for you—without question. Without blinking.” He glanced at Beck and Heavenly. “Yet you sit here on the sidelines, watching, removed, because you’re too afraid to embrace a future with them.”
Seth gripped the table to stop himself from laying Zach out in a single punch. “Who the fuck told you that?”
“I overheard Beck and Heavenly talking after dinner last week. They want kids. You don’t.”
That made his blood boil. It didn’t matter if it was true. “Do you always eavesdrop on people’s conversations?”
“No. I’m simply a concerned brother, trying to navigate the same road you’ve been walking for years. I’m worried Beck will miss his chance at happiness because you’re too scared to accept the unconditional love he and Heavenly are dying to give you. I want to shake you, tell you to pull yourself together and stop being afraid of losing everything again.”